Fishing, as a means of sustenance, goes back far beyond the earliest beginnings of civilization and, indeed, predates modern homo sapiens, as numerous archaeological finds have revealed.
Perhaps the earliest form of fishing practiced by man involved the use of a spear or similar instrument which was used to take the fish after the same was visually spotted. Other means for catching fish have also been used since time immemorial. For example, hooks are revealed in the archeological record for many thousands of years in such diverse areas as the pan-arctic culture, Europe and China.
Hooks also represent the first use of what may be generally referred to as baits and lures. Typically, hooks were and still are baited using a food which the species being sought is likely to feed on. For example, such species as flounder and porgies may be taken using saltwater worms, such as sand worms, minnows, or the like. Larger species, such as tautogs may also take a worm but are also likely to be taken on crabs Larger species such as mature bluefish and striped bass typically feed on large schools of menhaden and a typical means of catching these larger fish involves the use of large chunks of menhaden on a hook or, whole fish attached to a line by a hook. Naturally, the use of live bait is generally regarded as more efficacious than other alternatives.
In addition to the natural foods of the species being sought, other materials will also serve as baits. For example, trout are often caught using corn kernels. Catfish and other species often will take a hook baited with a wheat flour dough. Some fishermen believe that making the dough using fish oil, alcohol or other additives improves the appeal of this material as a bait. Still another approach involves the use of such other additives as fluorescent coloring agents in a wide range of colors, although this could be questioned due to the limited range of sensitivity of fish eyes to light across the spectrum.
Still yet another technique involves the use of so-called artificial lures which simulate the bait. For example, in the case of bluefish, striped bass and other larger species, the same may be lured through the use of a simulated mechanical minnow or larger bait fish. The lure may be as simple as an elongated hook bearing rounded cylindrical plug which is pulled through the water either by casting and retrieving or by being trolled behind a moving boat under motor, sail, or human power. More elaborate versions have varying degrees of buoyancy and, or a forward located fin which causes them to dive and wiggle to the right and left as they are pulled through the water. Still others have concave or flat front ends of "heads". These heads have the effect of causing the plug to make a noise as it is dragged through the water. The attractiveness of this effect may be enhanced by irregular retrieval of the plug.
The commercial availability of plugs is only a relatively recent phenomenon because of the traditional nature of fishing, despite the fact that these devices have a surprisingly long history. The best evidence is that the use of these devices originated with American Indians in aboriginal times, well before the introduction of Europeans into the Americas. It was only about a century ago that plugs were first manufactured and sold for eventual widespread use by fisherman in North America.
Fisherman have also developed the art of fishing using simulations of other live baits. At some point, long ago, fisherman noticed that the trout and other fish which they were seeking often fed on flies and other insects which were either trapped by or were emerging from pools of water in the streams and ponds where the fish lived. While, it is likely that from the earliest times flies, larvae, nymphs and other insects were used as bait, from a very early date simulations of these creatures also were used to catch fish.
One entire branch of fishing evolved from this approach. Fly fishing, as the sport is known today, evolved from the use of artificial flies as lures to catch primarily fresh water fish species.
While the precise origins of the sport are not known, it had progressed from its earliest beginnings to a point where, in the Middle Ages, written descriptions were available for the composition and construction of flies from such materials as hair, fur, feathers, wire and yarn, virtually the same materials in use today. Likewise, detailed instructions were available for the composition of lines and the various characteristics of the lines and flies which were needed to catch particular species of fish.
Moreover, the activity of fly fishing had developed to the point that even in the Middle Ages the same was recognized as a sport which was suitable for gentlemen to use to occupy their leisure time. At the same time, at least one treatise admonishes gentlemen fly fisherman not to abuse the sporting nature of this diversion by doing such things as taking more fish than one actually consumes oneself and not to interfere with those who make their living from the waters, among other things.
At the same time, it is noted that during this early period, such fresh water fishing was often reserved to the nobility which controlled the rivers, streams, lakes and ponds where trout and salmon could be taken. During this period, only trout and salmon were considered suitable as food for gentle folk, other fish being referred to as "coarse" fish.
The flies used during the Middle Ages and, for that matter, the flies used until relatively recently all fall into a category generally referred to today as wet flies. Such flies comprise a hook whose shank serves to simulate the body of the fly. The body can be formed by wrapping or otherwise covering the shank with yarn. Wings can be simulated with tufts of fur. Wings can also be simulated with bits of feather cut to the proper size and shape. In addition, a tail may be added to the "fly" at the end of the shank opposite the eye by which it is attached to the line. Such a tail may be made of a tuft of fur or textile. Generally, during use, wet flies sink below the surface of the water and are typically cast and retrieved at relatively low speed or allowed to move in a current at the end of a fly line and the relatively flexible fly rod.
During casting, the fly rod is swung backward and forward resulting in casting forward and casting back increasing lengths of the whip-like fly line forward and back against the spring action of the fly rod, dragging the almost weightless lure at its tip.
While most of the changes in the equipment used for fly fishing have been limited to the introduction of more modern materials, such as the evolution from willow to heartwood and later split bamboo, fiberglass and graphite as rod materials, the only major change in the sport occurred about a hundred years ago with the introduction of the dry fly. Generally, this sort of fly is designed to be extremely light so that it may float on water as a consequence of surface tension. Floating is achieved through the use of a flotation coating on the fly, such as petroleum jelly or the like and particular constructional features, including, the spiralling of hackle about the body of the fly to produce numerous points which, particularly when coated with floatant, enhance the ability of the relatively light fly to rest on the top of the water.